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Cuba, Portugal, and Albania Added to Top Adventure Travel Destinations

Cuba Is One of the Top 2017 Adventure Travel Destinations

Cuba, Portugal, and Albania Added to Top Adventure Travel Destinations

(SEATTLE) March 14, 2017 – The Adventure Travel Trade Association (www.adventuretravel.biz) is releasing findings this week from its 2017 Industry Snapshot, a comprehensive look at the adventure travel industry through the eyes of adventure travel tour operators. The ATTA has been involved in original and collaborative research for more than a decade as part of its mission of educating and professionalizing the adventure travel industry. Since 2006, the ATTA has invited companies to share anonymous information about their businesses from the previous year.

The 2017 Industry Snapshot focuses on trends including information about destinations, activities, and industry business practices. Mid-year, a second Snapshot will be released with an emphasis on the financial perspective on the industry. The Snapshot is offered for free to ATTA members and can be purchased and downloaded by anyone in the travel community.

Example key findings in this year’s report include:

Tours, Activities, and Destinations:

The most in-demand adventure activities mentioned were ecotourism, cultural, environmentally sustainable, hiking, and culinary. Also popular for specific regions were cycling and safari activities.

Trip types receiving more interest from clients included “shorter duration” and “long haul/overseas” trips, along with “custom itineraries” and “family/multi-generational” trips.

Favored Destinations from the Top Adventure Traveler Source Markets:

North America and Europe continue to lead as the primary source markets for adventure travelers. For North Americans, the United States, Peru, Ecuador, and Canada have been in the top five the past two years. In 2017, however, Cuba made the top five, displacing Italy, a top five destination since 2014.

For Europeans, Italy, Spain, and France receive the most bookings year after year. A surprise for 2017, however, is the appearance a new country among the top five destinations for Europeans: Albania. The spark of interest in Albania is noteworthy, as a spotlight has been on the region since 2014 with AdventureWeek Western Balkans, Balkans-focused AdventureEDU training, and the recent AdventureNEXT Balkans industry event.

Destination Benefit:

Tour operators estimate 67 percent of the per guest trip cost remains in the local region, and this is up two percent from 2016. However, they also estimate customers traveling with adventure travel companies spend approximately $142 USD per trip on local handicrafts or souvenirs. This is down three dollars from 2016.

Customer Profile:

Couples are the most prevalent group type, making up 37 percent of clients. Eighteen percent of clients are solo travelers, and 19 percent are families. Groups make up 26 percent of guests. Families were up three percent over last year and solo travelers were up one percent.

Clients are slightly more likely to be women – 51 percent of clients – than men. This has gone down 2 percent since 2016 when tour operators reported 53 percent women clients.
In terms of adventure traveler demographics, the largest group of adventure travel tour operator clients (40 percent) are between the ages of 50-70. The average age of the adventure traveler reported is 47 years old.

The report also reveals details about increased trip prices and average trip price per region as well as feedback on online booking trends and tour operators’ average audiences per marketing channel.

The ATTA Industry Snapshot offers those working in adventure travel with a useful benchmarking tool, and those outside the industry with perspective on the health, outlook, and characteristics of this dynamic industry.

About Adventure Travel Trade Association
Established in 1990, the Adventure Travel Trade Association (ATTA) serves over 1,000 members in 100 countries worldwide. Members predominantly include tour operators, tourism boards, specialty agents and accommodations with a vested interest in the sustainable development of adventure tourism. The ATTA delivers solutions and connections that propel members towards their business goals and the industry toward a responsible and profitable future. Through its regional AdventureConnect and AdventureNEXT events and annual Adventure Travel World Summit and AdventureELEVATE trade conference, the ATTA excels in professional learning, networking and partnering services. With expertise in research, education, adventure travel industry news and promotion, members of the ATTA receive competitive opportunities that help establish them as leaders in adventure tourism.